Listening to a Turnabout
by Luna-Bell07
Summary: Post Dual Destinies. Apollo's broken heart is causing him to disappear. Phoenix Wright takes on the greatest challenge of all: getting his broken son to just let it all out.
1. Chapter 1

(Takes place a year after Dual Destinies.)

_(The punctuation after certain names appears weird, because this site deletes the name when it is typed properly.)_

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><p>My name's Phoenix Wright, and I'm losing my son. My Apollo.<p>

If he's not shuffling through case files, he's staring out of the window. Very little comes out of his mouth, and whatever happens to make it is devoid of life. The more time passes, the more he disappears. The more we worry.

He's in one of the agency's backrooms. He told us he's looking for more case files to organize, but there's no point in organizing casework that's already in order. He's just trying to stay away from Trucy's Christmas decorations. She thought it would be a good idea if we lit the agency up, so we could share Christmas magic with Mr . Terran.

But Apollo's disappearing. Quickly.

I take him by the hand, and as I speak to him, I let him know Trucy and Athena are worried. Gravely worried. I let him know I'm afraid-

Of losing my son.

"Polly...if there's anything you need to talk about, anything at all-"

He doesn't hear a thing I say. Apollo smiles at me, just as lifeless as he was back there in court. During that case. The case in which he channeled-

"Can I help you with something, Mr. Wright?"


	2. Chapter 2

(Names that come after the word 'Mr' are mysteriously erased for some reason, when typed the proper way. That's what they appear weird: I typed them in a way they wouldn't be erased. My apologies!

Phoenix refers to Clay as 'Mr. Terran' out of affection and respect, even though Apollo prompted him to refer to his best friend by first name.

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><p>Apollo's eyes burn through me. Even though they're carefree, the truth behind them grinds me into ashes. I feel like I'm looking straight into the Grim Reaper's eyes, as I did during that case. The case in which Apollo was replaced by-<p>

My voice is not my own. It's breaking, like a wooden bridge against the stampedes it carries. "Polly, if there's something you'd like to talk about-"

"Actually, there is." Apollo's eyes light up, and for a moment, I believe I've gotten him back. But the truth skewers me once again.

"I was just thinking-"

"Yes?"

"About how it would've been better if Clay and I had never met."

Right then and there, the floor disappears. I'm left with nothing-not even the breath in my body. I'm reminded of what I said to Edgeworth that day, of how I told him I wished he had actually died.

And once again, my greatest fear has come to life.

Apollo continues as if we had never spoken to each other, gathering case files that don't need even a second of attention. As a matter of fact, they're the very case files I organized just a few days ago. Everything before me has been warped, turned, twisted into a landscape that wrenches the guts out of me. I'm right back to where I was in that courtroom; sweaty, anxious, restless. Facing off against the young attorney I had come to love with every fiber of my being. Apollo's right back to where he was-a billion miles away from me and everything that had to do with our family. He's nowhere near Christmas, even though we've been working like dogs to light the office up. For him and Mr. Terran. So our Polly will come back to us.

He throws another smile at me, and I'm left standing in the middle of a blizzard. "If you don't need me for anything, Mr. Wright, I'd like to-"

I've got to stop this. I have to stop this! The longer I wait to do anything, the more he disappears! I already made the mistake of letting Edgeworth disappear. I've already lost him! I can't lose Apollo. I _won't_ lose Apollo! Trucy needs him, Athena needs him-I need him! I can't lose anyone else!

"Wait, Apollo!"

I go back to what he just said. About wishing he and Mr. Terran had never even met. "You can't be serious," I tell him, feeling as though I've been on one of Athena's marathons. "You can't possibly be serious!"

He looks at me like a wounded, confused puppy. "About what?"

Everything that's been welling up inside of me is so close to spilling over. "Don't play dumb with me! About wishing you had never met Mr. Terran," I cry. My voice is louder than I anticipated, but I can't let this chance pass me by. I can't lose Apollo the same way I lost Edgeworth. When I should've been there for him, when I should've been comforting him, I either said the most awful things or nothing at all. And we're so close to Christmas. I can't let Polly disappear.

"You wish you had never met him! You've got to take that back, Apollo!"

He's still blank, but about to boil over. I can sense it. He and Edgeworth are alike in so many ways. "Why?"

"Don't you think that would break Mr. Terran's heart? You want to erase all of the wonderful, precious memories you made together!"

He keeps looking me as if I'm trying to tell him two and two makes twenty-three, instead of four. "Makes sense to me," Apollo tells me with a shrug. "If we had never met, maybe his dream would've come true. Maybe he would've met someone that would've been able to protect him. And...if we had never met...never mind."

He's doing it again; shrugging off his feelings. His thoughts. As if they're worthless. "No, what is it?"

I really wish he'd stop smiling at me. "Nothing much. Just maybe I wouldn't be feeling so empty."

With an 'excuse me', he begins to leave. With what, I don't know. I only know that he's walking away from me. Leaving me once again, in the cold, dark night, in which I'll never be able to find him ever again. If I let him go now, I may lose him. So I do what I can. I grab him by the arm, forcing him to drop every last paper he picked up, and sweep him into a hug. I'm not letting him go, no matter what! "I understand you're hurt, I understand you're tired," I tell him, pushing my words out as quickly as I can, before he can vanish once more.

"You miss him. I know you do. But you can't undo anything that's happened, Apollo. You can't make it go away. You can't make _Mr. Terran_ go away by pushing away everything that happened."

"It's worth a try," he tells me, his voice no higher than a whimper. He's quiet-he must be getting ready to break down. I'm ready. I'll catch every last one of his tears, or my name isn't Phoenix Wright! I'll-

"Now, if you don't mind, I'd like some of Trucy's hot chocolate. I've been in here long enough, Mr. Wright. So have you. And I can't be a bump on the log all the way through Christmas, can I?"

Apollo wrenches his way out of my hug, then leaves. I don't stop him. I can't. Everything I wanted to say, needed to say, vanished. It's like my first time in court. My first time _back_ in court. But I'm not on a case. I'm trying to save someone important to me. My protege. My Apollo.

"No wonder you're still mad at me, Miles. Don't blame you."


	3. Chapter 3

If there's a bigger failure than me out there, give me his number. I'd love to meet him. Then I'd be able to find the silver lining in not being able to bring my son to shore. In not being able to breathe life into him. Or maybe I'd just be able to laugh at myself, seeing how there's someone out there with problems much larger than mine, yet here I am with a raft. My son's out in the middle of the ocean, frightened, lost, but I can't get the raft out to him. I'm too weak to even push the raft an inch beyond the shore. I can't imagine how many people would laugh at me.

They'd all be well within their rights to do so.

The Christmas season is upon us. I should be happy, but a certain someone's making it impossible to smile for more than a millisecond. I've got my Trucy and Athena, but I'm losing someone else. Someone that's become not only an important part of my family, but an important part of me. My girls feel the same way. Each of them went through Hell on Earth last year, but neither of them are focused on their trials. They conquered their trials like the champions I always knew they could be. Trucy made out safely from Miss Blackquill's clutches, and Athena-she fought off the darkness like a Stormtrooper. Now she's focused on Polly. We all are.

There's a storm raging inside of me. It becomes quiet whenever the girls are around, whether they're decorating the agency or showering me in hugs. Kisses. Dressed from head to toe in red, green and white, they're the light of my world this Christmas. The only hope I have. I'll only be able to make it above water if they stay with me, eyes shining with that familiar hope I've come to love. They're out and about, gathering more decorations and getting ready to bake cookies. I wish I could enjoy the season along with them, but it reminds me of too much. It reminds me of two people; one I've lost, the other I'm in danger of losing.

A few hours have passed since Polly got some of Truce's hot chocolate. I'm up to bat again, with Apollo coming back from a few errands. His rounds of being Santa Claus. He dropped off cookie bags to a few of our old clients; a tradition we just started this year. "Hey there, Mr. Wright," he says. It takes me a moment to realize he's talking to me. With that smile on his face, too. Shivers run through my spine because of that look.

I can't help but think of that case. The case that almost took our Polly away forever.

"What are you still doing here? Thought you'd be out with the girls getting a tree."

"A tree, right," I reply, scratching the back of my neck. He shakes the snow off his shoulders and takes off his scarf, still smiling, as though there's nothing holding him down. A part of me wishes I were as naive as a child. Maybe then I'd be able to enjoy the light on Polly's face. But I know it's not real. I know it's the same kind of light that plagued Miles' face, before he faded away.

"They'll be all right without me. Might be nice for them to have a bit of girl time. Besides, what do I need an old man's help for?"

He says nothing in response. Just gives me a light chuckle. "Their cookies were a hit, by the way," he tells me, putting his coat away. Wow, it's snowing pretty hard out there. "Mr. Armstrong said he'd love more of Truce's chocolate chip snowflakes."

I swallow pretty hard. Maya worked for Mr. Armstrong once, and it started off so easily. With a few compliments here and there, and with Maya being a Christmas elf all year round, well…things didn't turn out too pretty. I could tell you all about Mr. Armstrong, Tres Bien, Maya working there and the case we were tangled up in, but that would take a few hours. And I'm sure you've got other plans for tonight that learning about one of my crazy cases.

"She's not working at Tres Bien, and that's that!"

Apollo turns to me with wide eyes. "Hold on, Boss. I don't think that was his angle. He just liked her snowflakes, that's all."

"Good. Because the last time I had one of my girls work there, it was a complete and utter mess!"

"She did get to see him in his elf get-up, though."

I let out a large groan. Knowing Jean Armstrong, that elf outfit was no modest outfit.

Apollo settles down, taking a seat on the agency's sofa. "Wocky loved Athena's sugar snowmen," he says, his voice calm, soft, seemingly carefree. I'm picking up red flags, and there are sirens going off all over the place. Athena's been rubbing off on me; I don't even need Widget to know his heart's screaming.

"I'll have to ask her to bake some more. Big Boss said they reminded him of days long past. Or something like that. There was also something about 'capturing the Christmas spirit'. It's amazing what a cookie can do, huh?"

"You could say that again," I say without paying any real attention to the words stumbling out of my mouth. I take a seat next to him, wondering where we'll end up next. Apollo gives me another light smile before pressing on.

"Oh, and Mr. Starbuck put in a request for some more of your apple cider cookies. Said they were unique, but good. Never heard of anything like them myself, but I gotta admit-once I popped one into my mouth, I couldn't help but grin."

My cheeks burned. "Guess it's true what they say-sometimes great things come from mistakes. Which is why I think you-wait. You went to see Mr. Starbuck?"

Apollo shrugs. "Of course I did. It's Christmas. And I haven't spoken to him in a year. By the way, what's your secret? With the cookies, I mean."

Hold on. I know they talked about more than my cookies. And that's where all of my red flags are coming from. Apollo went to see Mr. Solomon Starbuck a year after both of their lives were shattered!

"You'd make a pretty good baker, Mr. Wright. If you're able to make a cookie taste exactly like hot apple cider-"

The warm, happy feelings behind our conversation are gone. They were never really there to begin with. "How is he? Mr. Starbuck?" I ask Apollo. He looks at me as if I'm asking him about his badge.

"Fine. Make sure you bake some more cookies for him, Boss. I'll run and get you some more apple cider if you need it, all right?"

"Apollo-"

"I'll bake some with you, if you need any help. Remember what happened yesterday. Almost burned down the kitchen trying to make my own Christmas cookies. Can't ruin things when we're a hop, skip and a jump away from Santa strolling in, now can I?"

Damn it! He's getting up and walking away from me again, talking about cookies and wreaths and all things Christmas, but he's disappearing, right before my eyes! He went to see Solomon without me, so I couldn't look out for him. Couldn't keep him safe from the memories that must've battered him, while they were together!

"Oh yeah, Mr. Wright? Aren't Pearls and Miss Buckler coming over later?"

"Yeah," I tell him, out of breath, racing for a way to stop time from slipping in between my fingers. "They're coming over to watch Christmas movies with us. They'll probably be over after we finish decorating the tree. Apollo-"

Right then and there, I stop. I freeze, just as I froze many times in court, right before a life-changing revelation.

Pearls. She's coming. I may not be able to see Maya this Christmas, but I've got Pearls. She'll be joining our Christmas party, and so will someone else.

"What d'ya want now?"

"Nothing, never mind," I wave off Polly's question, mind racing.

I hope I'm about to do the right thing.


End file.
